Resident Evil Operation: Break Down The System
by Chyna Skye
Summary: After the incidents all over Raccoon and the surrounding areas, all the survivors from the out breaks have met at a safe haven, and are now, out to get Umbrella back for what they did.
1. Default Chapter

The evil Umbrella Corporation needs to be stopped, and now,  
all who were involved within the Raccoon City incidents are out to do so.  
  
:: Author'sNote ::  
Hehe, this one, unlike my first Fanfic, is not  
yaoi. So, all of you may enjoy this a bit more,  
or a bit less. My first one was just a try at what  
would be considered a risk. This one's, more of a  
safe bet. I hope you like this one alot! Enjoy!  
  
Chapter One  
  
Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield took one another into a strong embrace, tears were pouring and the two wouldn't release eachother ever again. After the long seperation after Claire'd gone to find her brother, the two vowed to become inseperable. Chris and the former S.T.A.R.S. members watched on for a moment, then walked over to split the two up temporarily, until they got to a safe haven.  
  
Ever since the incidents, Umbrella had been sending agents out to assassinate the remaining survivors, not wanting the press to get a leak of what had truely occurred within the city limits. S.T.A.R.S. had tried their best to make the accidents public, but Umbrella always had a way of stopping them. They'd all decided upon one thing.  
  
Umbrella needed to be stopped.  
  
The group took off at a run, through the streets of Buena Vista, Colorado, a city far from where the crater of old Raccoon was. Though, no real threat was obvious right now, Chris and the others knew someone was watching them. There was always some sort of surveiliance everywhere. Umbrella owned everything.  
  
"Claire, how much longer?" Sherry ran alongside Claire, watching her with great adoration. It was Claire who'd saved Sherry from a genetic mutation gone wrong back in the Raccoon City Police Department.  
  
"Not much longer, just hold on, okay sweetie?" Claire smiled down to her and Sherry nodded her head once to show she could be patient. In the past few weeks, Claire had become a very formidable mother to Sherry, watching her at all times and keeping her safely guarded from the Umbrella agents that would come along every now and then. Of course, Leon was always helping her along in every encounter.  
  
The rest of the group had hurried on ahead so Claire took it upon herself to scoop up her soon-to-be-daughter and cradled her until the two of them caught up and got into the abandoned house they were staying in. When they walked in, Rebecca Chambers and Carlos Olivera looked up from the supplies they were packing and smiled.  
  
"Chris! I'm so happy, you're back!" Rebecca smiled and walked over to him, carrying a medical pack which she'd set up from spare equipment they could find.  
  
Chris smiled and took her in his arms for a moment, then released her only a tad to turn and smile to the rest of the group they'd just brought in, "Rebecca, this is my sister Claire and her friends Leon Kennedy, and Sherry Birkin."  
  
"Nice to meet you." Leon took a step forword in front of Claire's outstretched hand and friendly smile to take Rebecca's hand in his. "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Oh." Rebecca smiles, a bit insecure with Leon's take-charge attitude. "I'm sure you're going to help us out a great deal, Leon."  
  
"Yeah, Leon. You're doing a bang-up job already." Claire smiles sarcastically and takes Sherry's hand in hers, starting to wander off. "Come on, Sherry, let's take you to go get set up with the other kids."  
  
"Other kids?!" Sherry looked up, excited at the turn of events.  
  
Leon smiled over to Chris, while Rebecca walks over to assist Barry Burton and Jill Valentine in setting up more equipment packs for them to use in their strike. "I see Ark got here, safely?"  
  
"Of course. He flew the kids and himself into a rocky landing a few miles out of town." He smirked and looked up the stairs which Sherry and Claire had gone up. "Ark! Get down here!"  
  
The door at the top of the stairs opened and Ark wandered down withouta shirt on and just a pair of jeans. He was a bit sweaty, obviously just showered from the long trip. He'd been making sure Lott and Lily were safe the entire time afterwards. "Leon, I found out so much from that island."  
  
"It's good to see you, too." He smirked and walked up to talk with his friend, smiling to Chris. "I'm sorry, but I'm a bit tired. Is it okay if I just lounge around?"  
  
"Be my guest." Chris smiled, then left the two friends to join his team mates in their task of supplies. Rebecca seemed to be having a touch time getting twenty syringes into one pack, so Chris took it upon himself to come up behind her and put his arms around her to help her put them in. The two had grown affectionate soon after their adventure in the mansion.  
  
"Leon, you wouldn't beleive what they're doing out there! Thousands of those Tyrant Project's are just stacked up like an army! I think they're planning on doing a full raid with bio-terrorist weapons on the whole world! One company against the whole world and they've got the upper hand."  
  
"Yeah, I know. The T-Virus. Claire and I found out all about it." He sighs and takes his friend by the shoulders and starts walking up the stairs. "They're stocking up all over the place. Claire and Chris even found more of them off on another island."  
  
"That's not the only thing they found," Ark smiled, having the inside information that he'd been seeking from the rest of the task force, "they found the Alpha team leader as well. Albert Wesker was apparently in conjunction with the rest of them down there in that freak labratory."  
  
Leon shakes his head, smiling at Ark's enthusiasm. Even within the most stressful of times, he always took a case seriously and dug his teeth into it.  
  
"What?" Ark smiled a bit, "come on, what is it, Leon?"  
  
"Nothing. It's nothing, okay?" He smiled, and then looked at Ark's still questioning expression. "Come on, let's just get some rest. How are the children you found?"  
  
"They're doing good. I'm just a bit worried about Lott, he thinks he's our age or something. He keeps wanting to go out and fight the good fight. He doesn't understand... I need him here to watch his little sister."  
  
"They're brother and sister? Wow, you're lucky to have found the two of them. That's saving a family, there." Leon tried some words of encouragment on his fellow officer of the law.  
  
"Yeah, but something tells me they could've survived on their own. Lott's a strong-willed boy. Him and Lily had been there the whole time and he protected her, die hard."  
  
"That's a good big brother for you." He looks down over the rail that blocked them from falling off the balcony in front of the door. "Seems to be quite a few of those combinations amongst us, look at Chris and Claire. The two wouldn't stop until they could find eachother and keep one another safe."  
  
"Yeah." Ark's eyes closed in a heavy held breath which evaporated into a yawn.  
  
"Sleepy? Come on, man. Let's hit the hay, I'm tired from driving here." Leon smirked, and walked with Ark into the room, "you think it was easy having to drive six hours to get here?"  
  
The two laugh and keep going on with their reunion, while the others strategize. Barry seemed to be the leader in the situation, after them being abandoned by the traitor, Wesker. He wandered around, inspecting everyone to make sure they were packing correctly, "Watch the barrel there, Jill."  
  
"Yes, sir." She smiled over to him, kind of cheesy in a way. She was worn out from her escape with Carlos Olivera. The two had barely made it out with their lives and were thrust back into the line of duty. Chris and the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. had made Carlos an honorary member of the team.  
  
"Oh, man. If I'd have known how much work was involved with the S.T.A.R.S. special task force, I wouldn't have let you recruit me, Jill." Carlos's silky voice crept on her with a smile and he looked over, trying to add levity to the pressuring and testing times.  
  
"Heh, heh. You have to have some thick skin, Carlos. Being the new guy isn't easy. Ask Rebecca." Jill smiled and laid her head on his nice strong shoulder, still keeping her hands moving across the table to pick up knives and anything she thought would be useful to her and to Claire. She was in charge of Redfield's bag.  
  
"Yeah, they can be pretty rough. I remember my first day..." Rebecca sighed and lifted her arm to rub her forarm top across her forhead, keeping the sweat from dripping into her eyes. "They got me into so much trouble with Cheif Irons. I thought for sure I'd be fired, but he caught on soon enough and I got off."  
  
Chris started to laugh, remembering the pointless tasks they'd had her do when she was the new girl on the team. Jill shared the sentiment, then wiped her eyes and bit on her lower lip. The gun in her hand fell onto the table and pushed some shells around after causing a dust cloud to rise. "Why did he do it to us? He could've listened, this could've all been prevented. All of our homes could've been safe. Our families."  
  
Valentine started to break down in Carlos's arms and he let down the Aid Sprays he'd been packing to keep a hold on her, rubbing her shoulders softly as he kept his voice to a calm whisper. "Don't worry about it, Jill. It's all over now, no more tears."  
  
The others looked over for a moment, Rebecca's eyes worried for Jill's well-being. She'd watched her own home go up in flames from a bomb tossed onto the city, just because Umbrella made a major mistake. So many had to die. So many innocent people were slaughtered for company profit.  
  
Chris and Barry stood up, Barry keeping a stiff upper lip. "Jill, he's right. You'll get your just revenge. Umbrella is going to pay for what they've done to us."  
  
Jill finally pulled from Carlos and straightened the hooded jacket she'd put on for warmth, "I can't take this, though Barry! I don't know how much longer I can go on just being thrown into exile. So much has happened and the world is left blind to it! It's not right! It's just not decent!"  
  
"No one said it was, dear. Just, don't lose it on us now. Not when we need you most. Not like this." Barry reached over and tried to comfort her, but she only pulled away from his warm touch, fighting back her tears as she cringed up and blocked everyone from her. "The Jill I knew would never break down and give up. Come on, you're a figher."  
  
Jill looked up, her eyes finally streaming with hot moist tears, which stained her pale cheeks like paint, "You're right. I can't lose it now."She smiled, brushing away her tears and throwing on her game face, no matter how hard it was. No matter what would happen, she couldn't let herself give up.  
  
Rebecca smiled and looked to the clock, then shot her attention over to Chris, "Shouldn't we be getting to sleep? It's late." She sighed and sat back in her chair, trying to crack her stiffened back.  
  
"Right after we get these packs set up. You know what happens in a few hours from now, we can't just let up now. Let's finish the job at hand, then turn in for the night?"  
  
"All right." Carlos smiled, again bringing the group back together. His witty charm and smooth attitude seemed to keep everyone at ease and put tensions at a loose state. "Come on, only a few more minutes and we're all done for the night." Carlos smiled and the rest of them joined at the table.  
  
Barry came up and smiled, seeing his team getting back into shape. He'd made sure to keep his real family safe, and so he intended on keeping this one protected as well. He saw everyone in the group as his family now, they had to be close to keep their mission in tact and the operation a success. As he looked around at the intent faces, he noticed one not so pleased one. He stepped over and took Chambers aside, looking to her questioningly.  
  
"Is something wrong, Rebecca?" He sat her down and smiled to her, keeping his friendly appearance up and his smile hiding his fear and intimidation for what was to happen.  
  
Rebecca nodded slowly, and looked down into her lap, watching her hands. "Yes, actually. I was just-" As she looked back up, she noticed the whole team staring at her and became nervously silent.  
  
"Come on, Rebecca." Chris's kind smile and open eyes helped to give her strength.  
  
"I was wondering," she took a deep breath and swallowed, "what are we all get killed tomorrow?"  
  
The rest of the group stood there. Their past luck had kept them all off their guard, feeling they could brave any situation after what they'd been put through. Jill lost her confidence and finished her packs, then set them up on the rack for tomorrow, right next to their equipment room. Chris followed soon after, then Rebecca and Carlos. Barry stood at the base of the stairs, watching his team head off to bed and took a deep breath. Sweat fell from his brow and hit the concrete floor below his boots.  
  
"No one's going to die," he tried his thoughts out loud. His voice was shakey, and worry soon set in on the Weapon Specialist's face. He fell to sit on the bottom step and held his head, taking a moment to pray for guidance.  
  
Claire and Sherry smiled to one another as Claire sat beside the kids' beds. Lott and Lily were next to eachother, and Lott had taken Lily into his arms to clam his worried sister as she rested. Him and Sherry were still awake and listening to Claire as she reminised from her childhood with Chris, thinking of stories to calm the two down for bedtime.  
  
"And, Chris was always a lucky boy with the ladies, so his girlfriends would always hang around the house and we'd all enjoy ourselves after my parents died. They were always so nice to me, except one. Felicity, she never thought Chris should've taken me as his responsibility after our parents died, and she bothered him about it so many times it drove him nuts. One night, though, she tried to get me to leave, telling me Chris hated me, and that I was causing him misery. I almost beleived her, being so young, but-"  
  
"But, good ol' Chris came along and told Felicity to get lost." Chris stepped in and sat behind Claire, putting his arm around his sister protectively and smiled down to the children, "I'd never let anything happen to my little sister. No one would come between us."  
  
Sherry sat up, wearing a big shirt, that was more than likely one of Barry's old tatters, as a night shirt, "Do you mean that you guys see us like your little kids to watch for?"  
  
Claire smiled and nodded her head, "We'll never leave you three, ever. We're going to watch over you like a hawk." She smiled and started to tickle Sherry's sides, giving her a case of the giggles, "whether you like it or not."  
  
Lott looked over and smiled at Claire and Sherry. He thought the two made a cute mother and daughter relationship, never sad, always happy, and always striving to keep eachother grounded. It's what he wished he could've had with his parents, but they'd never pay attention to him. He felt terrillblle lately, just thinking about them and how Ark was able to relate to him better than his own father ever could've.  
  
"Something wrong, Lott?" Leon walked in the door, to the make-shift bedroom and smiled to the soon to be teenaged boy.  
  
"Oh, nothing." Lott smiled up to him and pulled his sister close, causing her to grab onto him and snuggle herself closer. He smiled and laid down, watching the rest of them.  
  
"Leon." Claire smiled and got up, "Will you stay in here with me tonight? I'd rather have someone helping with the night shift."  
  
"Of course, I will." Leon smiled and wandered over to sit with Chris and Claire on the long box they'd found themselves upon. "Chris, where're you sleeping?"  
  
Chris smirked, getting a hint of what was going on and got off the box, rising to his feet. "I'm sharing a bunk with Rebecca, Barry, and Jill. I think Carlos is staying with us, though, now that you're all here."  
  
"Alright." Leon leaned back and cautiously put his arm around Claire, only being a bit careful since her older brother was around and he didn't want to disrespect his new friend and teammate in any way possible.  
  
"Oh, and Ark'll be in here, so keep the door unlocked until he comes in." Chris smirked and waved to them, then left the two with the three children to rest. They had made an effort to split the two rooms up evenly, and keep the children all together as a fail safe.  
  
Leon smiled to Claire, a decisive look coming over his face as he watched her. She looked over to him, then started to laugh a little bit, "What is it Leon?"  
  
He gave her no response, but started to lean in slowly.  
  
"Gah! Back off." She pushed him and let him fall onto the wooden floor, the upstairs having nice flooring than the lower level, but it was still shabby.  
  
Sherry and Lott got into a fit of laughs and watched on as the adults continued to goof around with one another, enjoying the time when they could just let go of the world's many problems.  
  
Leon caught Claire on his fall and brought her with him, landing her atop him and then rolling to get the advantage over her. She wouldn't let him just take the full attack and went on her defense, flipping him to his back and putting her knees on his wrists. He started to laugh and lost the strength in his arms at her spunky courage with him.  
  
"Oh god, get a room you two." Lott rolled over and closed his eyes, letting Lily hold his back.  
  
Leon started to laugh and got up, lifting Claire up with him. She stood and brushed her clothes off as he did the same. "Sorry about that, Lott."  
  
"Oh, it's okay, Leon." Sherry was sitting up in bed, just watching the two of them. Claire looked over with a smile on her face and wandered up, pressing Sherry to lay down.  
  
"You should be going to sleep, little miss." She smiled and poked Sherry's nose for a smile off the little girl.  
  
"But, I'm not sleepy yet Claire." Sherry whined, trying to resist the nurturing voice that was urging her to sleep.  
  
"Yeah, but if you don't get some rest, you'll be even worse come morning. Come on, you and the others have a lot to do tomorrow to help out the adults." Claire tucked her in and Sherry finally gave up her reluctance.  
  
"Alright, Claire." She smiled and Claire leaned down to kiss her on the forhead before Sherry rolled over and closed her eye to head to sleep. Claire reached up and pulled the string attached the bulb in the room, letting it switch off. She turned and got into the veiw of the window, so she could see in the moonlight's downcast.  
  
Leon wandered over and took Claire up in his arms, then sat down wiht her by him and let her scoot away a bit for some comforatable room. She smiled over to Leon and he smiled back to her. For a moment, their heads started to close in, losing the saftey distance placed between them.  
  
That all ended abruptly when Ark came into the room and smiled, "Kids asleep, yet?"  
  
"No, so be quiet." Lott looked up form the bed, hard to be seen in the darkness. Ark smiled and walked over to sit by Claire, the side empty of Leon. Lott went back to laying down, making his best effort to go to sleep.  
  
"So, you two enjoying your time back together before tomorrow?" Ark rested his head back against the wall, looking around the shack styled room. There was nothing too glamorous about it, except the beds they'd put together.  
  
"Yeah, it's nice to see eachother after being parted for so long," Claire smiled over to him and pulled her knees up to her breast.  
  
"Of course it is, and it's even nicer to have caught up with you finally Ark. How long's it been?" Leon started to take some random guesses, "two, three years?"  
  
Ark smiled, "Two and a half, but nice try." He started to play with his fingers, "and I've had nothing but hell since. So many cases, so many mysteries, but the one you've sent me on seems to be the biggest bitch of 'em all, you know?"  
  
Leon started to laugh and Claire finally caught in on the joke for a few moments. The two looked to eachother, then Claire looked over, "Wow, dont' I feel awkward. Two cops remiscing about the past and all I've got to goof around about is Colorado University."  
  
Leon smiles and puts his arm over her shoulders, making a daring move in front of his friend, "it's alright, Claire. I'm sure you've got to be used to having the police around you all the time, aren't you?"  
  
"Of course I am. Jill and Barry used to be around all the time, along with Richard Aiken." She smiled and leaned into Leon's arm.  
  
Ark looked over, hearing soft snores coming from Lott's bed and he got up, just to peak over the faces of Sherry and Lott, "The kids are asleep."  
  
"Good." Leon smiled, and then looked to Ark, "What's the game plan for tomrrow, anyway?"  
  
Ark sighed and looked to make sure that the children were all ready alseep, not needing any eaves dropping. Once he was sure it was safe, he spoke quietly, "Well, word is there's anotehr facility around here that Umbrella's made, but luckily there shouldn't be any biohazardous material there. They're a legit company, but they do have links to the headquarters. We originally thought that their main intelligence was in Australia, but we soon found out that that was the cover-up. Our mission tomorrow is to obtain information on all locations Umbrella has and then see which could possibly contain T-Virus generated beings. Our mission, really, is to locate the main branch off of Umbrella where all the incidents originated from, and the target it for attack."  
  
Leon nodded and looked to Claire, who seemed just a bit uenasy about it. She looked up and spoke up, just a little louder, "How are you sure there's nothing there?"  
  
"We've sent in a spy team already, a woman who claims to have connections into Umbrella already. She's working there along with someone already in the facility. We've gotten messages from her in covert areas, and have gotten the information we need. Tomorrow's the pick-up for her, and we intend on breaking her out on our mission."  
  
"Who is she?" Leon asked, starting to get a bit iterested.  
  
"Some woman, dark haired and fair skinned. Her name's something like.. umm. Margo Vasquez, I beleive. I really didn't pay much attention to who she was, just that we could get the information from her."  
  
"Oh..." Leon looked down, the discription reminding him of the love he'd developed with the Umbrella spy, Ada Wong. But she was long gone, she'd taken a deadly plunge itno the depths of the Umbrella lab, sealing her mortal fate.  
  
"Who's going tomorrow?" Claire chimed in.  
  
"It's most of us. I think Barry is leading the mission with Chris in second command. Jill and Carlos are going for sure, and Leon you're scheduled to help. I think it's just going to be me, Claire, Rebecca, and the kids here tomorrow."  
  
"Oh," Claire looked down, a bit disappointed she wouldn't be joining the investigation squadrant. She figured it was probably her brother's overprotective nature. He wouldn't want to place his sister in the face of danger again, not after the Ashford Estate and the Police Department.  
  
Leon smiled to her and held her close, her head falling against his chest and her eyes resting. He closed his as well and looked over to Ark who was starting to drop off into a sleep himself. He smiled and rubbed over Claire's back, "Don't worry, Claire."  
  
"I'm not worried, I'm just nervous." She said, like it was anything different.  
  
Leon smiled and rested his chin on the top of her head, holding her close. Ark opened his left eye and watched them, winking. He smiled and closed his eye, thinking to himself about how nice a couple the two of them would make.  
  
The dead of night was awoken with a scream from Sherry. Jill sat up in the room adjacent to Sherry's and thought a moment before getting up and pulling herself free of Carlos's loving hold. She looked over and smiled to him before nervously turning to head out the door. She turned and cautiously walked to the door next to theirs.  
  
Out of basic instinct, she reached down to her leg and pulled the nine millimeter gun from its holster and approached with caution. She whipped open the door and aimed in, looking around. She stopped and stared around, looking over Claire and Leon snuggled up, Ark in the corner, the children nestled in their beds.  
  
Nothing too unusual.  
  
Sherry looked over and got up quickly, rushing over to grab onto Jill. Her arms fell around the woman's waiste and her face fell into her bosom, tears soaking the material in Jill's shirt, though she didn't seem to mind as she lifted the child and cradled her against her.  
  
"Did you have a bad dream, Sherry?" Jill asked as they stepped out of the door and onto the balcony. She carefully shut the door behind her so no one would wake up from hers and Sherry's voices.  
  
"Yeah," she looked down, embarrassed. How could she be so weak? She needed to be strong, she couldn't keep worrying everyone over her. They had more important things to take care of.  
  
"Oh," Jill smiled, showing she cared as her feet guided them over the cold concrete which she ignored on her bare soles and sat Sherry down at the table they'd done the packing at earlier in the night. "What was it about?"  
  
Sherry watched Jill step over to the miniature fridge against the wall, curiously. "I, don't want to say."  
  
Jill reached in and pulled out a small jug of milk, "You know, sometimes it helps to talk about it. It makes the fear go away to let others know what's bothering you." She smiled over to her and came up with a cup which she put in front of her.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I just, well," Sherry watched her pour the milk and bit her lip hard as she curled up defensively, "it's about my Daddy."  
  
"Oh?" William Birkin, the man responsible for the invention of the G- Virus, one of the most deadly and lethal viruses created by the hated Umbrella Corporation. It was no wonder Sherry would have nightmares about him.  
  
"Yeah. I keep having the same dream, over and over again. It's always the same. I'm laying down in the lab like he used to let me when I'd visit him and Mommy. They'd always play with me for a bit, then get on with their researchers while I was left to experiment with things on my own. But, this time, in my dream, I got into Daddy's secret drawer." She cringed and silenced.  
  
Jill reached over and rubbed over her back, offering the glass of milk, smiling, "it's okay Sherry. Take your time."  
  
Sherry smiled, looking over to Jill before pulling the milk to her for a sip. She took a deep breath and decided to continue, "Well, then when I was playing with the liquids he always kept safely in the air tight machine, mixed one of them with the other. And it turned a funny color, and I thought it was pretty. So I called Mommy in to come see and she took it from me, looking at it and then ran it under a machine. The next thing I know, Daddy's coming in congratulating me and hugging me tight. I'm all happy until he pulls back and he starts to turn into the monster he turned into in their labs. His face started to change and his body started to grow and he became," She started to cry hard, "he became a monster."  
  
Jill smiled a bit and took Sherry into her lap, rubbing her back and trying to keep her from the tears that seemed so easy for the both of them tonight. She kept holding her and running her fingers over Sherry's back until the little girl finally calmed. "You have nothing to worry about Sherry, it was all just a dream."  
  
Sherry looked to Jill, hoping she was right, but she wasn't. Not this time. She looked down and then bit her lip tighter, "You don't understand, Ms. Valentine-"  
  
"Call me Jill." She smiled.  
  
"Jill. It wasn't just a dream. That really happened, and now I'm remembering it!" Sherry started to sob once more and Jill stared down at the girl in horror. "Don't you get it, Jill?"  
  
Jill looked to her, the dream being chewed over in her thoughts. She finally bit her lip and looked down, facing grim reality.  
  
Sherry finally looked up from Jill's shirt and started to cry out, "I'm the one who did it! It's my fault Daddy was a monster." She sniffled and took a deep breath, "I'm responsible for making the virus!" 


	2. Chapter Two

**The evil Umbrella Corporation needs to be stopped, and now, ****all who were involved within the Raccoon City incidents are out to stop them!**

**:: Author'sNote ::**

**Sorry it took me so long to update. I'll try and be  
****more speedy on my next chapters to this fanfic. I've just  
****been a bit sidetracked and busy as of late, but don't worry,  
****I'm not going to let my fan fics just sit around like that..**

**Chapter Two**

** Morning came, and dawn approached the horizon. Everyone had awaken and was about, even Sherry and Jill who'd had a bit of an incident the night before. Sherry sat with the Kleins, Lott and Lily. The children were all nervous, staring down at the group of adults, preparing for today's invasion of the Umbrella Research Facility. The grown-ups were hard at work, loading last minute weapons, pulling on heavy armor, and dressing in already used and tattered clothing.**

** Jill seemed to be a bit slow this morning, not being able to get her stamina to the max quite yet. Her mind was wandering to other places, other than the mission at hand. Instead, her mind was dwelling upon whether or not she should leak the information to Barry about what the girl had told her last night.**

** "All right, everyone. Grab your packs and get into the carrier. We need to move out now!" Barry lead the charge with his shouts, which sent the group going on the mission hoarding into the confiscated S.T.A.R.S. truck. Leon stood at the front, taking the driver's seat while the rest all filed in and took their random seat. Barry stepped in and slammed down the top to his magnum.**

** Claire looked over at the truck, holding the front of her shirt tightly while watching Leon take on the role of the strong-willed officer she'd seen him as in the RPD. Her heart sunk when she thought of all the incidents that could go down in the labs, and her eyes trailed to the floor, "Be safe."**

** "He will be." Sherry came up to Claire and took her arms around her serigant mother's waiste, "Nothing's going to happen so stop worrying." She smiled up to Claire and filled her with a ray of hope.**

** "You're probably right, there is nothing to worry about. The labs are secure, and it's not as if they don't know it for sure. They have inside intelligence working, right? That's a good sign, right?" Claire looked around, hoping to become reassured once more. Her gaze fell upon Ark who'd been speaking with the children he'd recovered from Sheena Island.**

** Her attention was thrown back at the truck as it started up and began rolling swiftly down the road and off onto the dirt beaten trail which would lead them to the Umbrella Labratory. Inside the vehicle, Barry axiously watched the others' faces. Carlos sat with a smile on Jill, who barely even seemed to notice him right now. It was like she'd been off in space the whole morning. Next to her, Chris and Leon conversed about their ideas of what research data they could uncover. He smiled and stood up, deciding to finalize the course of action.**

** "Alright. Here are the plans." Everyone's full attention landed upon him, their focus primarily targeted now, "Leon and myself are the squadrant leaders, we're splitting into two sectors. Carlos and Jill, you two are coming with me. We're taking the data disks and saving as much research as possible, and just keeping the scientists at bay so they can't trigger any alarm systems. Understood?"**

** Carlos smiled and leaned back in his old Umbrella uniform, issued to him for the strenuous mission he'd taken. After so many zombie attacks and bites being stopped by the thick material, he'd decided to keep it with him at all times. He nodded his head and then looked over to Jill, who smiled back at him before tipping her S.T.A.R.S. beret.**

** "Good. Now, Leon's team is formed of Chris and himself. Their primary objective is to establish a meeting with our contact, and to get her out of the building along with our escape. Chris, I'm also entrusting you with the task of disabling the surveillance footage, if Ms. Vasquez has not done so already."**

** "Understood." Chris smiled and cocked his shot gun. The weapons were only here for a threat, to keep the researchers in line. They didn't plan on using them at all, unless something horrillblle were to occur.**

** "All right. Now, we're only about a mile and a half from the facility. Make sure your packs are ready, your weapons are equipped correctly, and enjoy the rest of the trip until we get there. Remember, I'm counting on all of you." He looked down at the group with a little smile on his face, confident in their abilities.**

** The labratory was already coming into veiw. Off in the distance, amongst a mile long stretch of fields, lie the distinct building. The van took a fast approach while everyone prepared for their mission and made sure everything was in order. Carlos looked around with his suave, little smile and then let his attention draw to Jill.**

** "Is something wrong, Jill? You've been really out of the loop today." He reached over and lay his hand on top of hers, trying to get her attention in a tender manner, and not just as a worried veiwer.**

** Jill looked up a bit startled, then smiled over to Carlos to try and nod away any hints of her questionable nature, "Oh, nothing at all. I'm just a bit sleepy, I had a rough time staying asleep last night."**

** "Jill, you aren't still worried about any of us being killed, are you? I mean, ever since your little break down yesterday, I've been watching you and you just seem to be more and more depressed."**

** She looked over to him, his kind smile and bright eyes behind his pretty brown hair made it a bit easier to confide in him, but she was questioning whether to tell him or not to. **

** "Jill?"**

** "It's nothing like that, I've just been weary from all the adventure lately and just am not looking forword to this." She'd decided to let Sherry keep her confidence in her as she entrusted the secret last night. For now, ths information was safe with her. It wasn't as if anyone would need it right this second, anways.**

** Rebecca wandered around the warehouse happily. Now, since the light was over the place, you cold see all that had been cast in shadow. The bedrooms up the East stair case, and the equipment room on the West stairs. Everything else was loose packing material and old first aid and ammo casings lay about, but that never brought her chipper attitude down a smidge.**

** "Rebecca!" Lily ran over, very excited to see her saunter in through the back doors and jumped up into her arms. Rebecca cradled the girl for a moment with a smile, then let her lean away, "You're back!"**

** "Of course, I am, Lily." She smiled and let the girl down, walking with her up the stairs to the bedrooms. "It doesn't take too long to get the supplies from town, you know."**

** "Yeah, I know, but I still was worried about yous! The whole'd Umbrella armies is been walking around latley, just lookin' for people with the little S.T.A.R.S. jobs to pick up off the street."**

** Rebecca smiled for a moment, then looked over to the door with a glare. Ark had leaked information to the children before, and Rebecca abhored when he'd do it. It only caused worry and panic back at the home front and that was something the rest of them didn't need at this very moment. For Lily's sake, though, she threw on a fake smile and wandered to the door.**

** "Yes, I know." A Vermont S.T.A.R.S. agency, the Sirius division, had recently gone missing. Chris and the others had concluded soon there after that Umbrella was cleaning its tracks. Reports of the same incidents that had gone on in Raccoon were starting to spread around the rest of the United States, and Chicago had become the most recent to have a strange investigation gone wrong.**

** "I'm gonna' go pay with the other kids, okay?" Lily smiled up to Rebecca, her innocence taking her mind off the Vermont crimes and Chicago accident. "See yous, Rebecca!" She ran into the first bedroom and slammed the door, causing an echo through the building. It was followed right by the sound of Sherry and Lott laughing along with Lily as the group played games.**

** "Have fun." She stood outside the door for a moment with a little smile on her face, then she turned and headed into the second doorway. It was the room the S.T.A.R.S. members had adopted as their own, and inside were Claire and Ark. Rebecca made a swift movement and ended up in front of Thompson.**

** "What's up, Rebecca?" Claire smiled over to her, happy to have another woman her age around now.**

** "Ark's been telling Lily and Lott about everything that's been happening." She never took her eyes off him as he smiled, a bit shocked at her outrage.**

** "What?" Claire looked over at him, now a bit upset herself. The Klein boy seemed to have a pretty big mouth and had taught Sherry some new things just in their first night here. It was no doubt Sherry would find out that the same things were happening elsewhere. The poor girl had enough to worry about, without that filling her head.**

** "I didn't do it to scare them, just to treat them as equals. You forget, you aren't the only ones affected by this company. The children were also involved." Ark shot back, on his defenses.**

** "I know they were also at the end of this, but that doesn't make it right to let them know! They're children, not your colleagues! It's better they're kept in the dark, other than revealed to the hate of this company. They don't need to know Ark, it's only making things worse here!" Rebecca was starting to shout.**

** "I think I know what I'm doing, Ms. Chambers. Just because you're a part of that little S.T.A.R.S. group doesn't give you power over all of us and if I choose to let Lott and Lily know what's going on, that's my choice! They're my responsibility!" Ark got up from his seat and stared down at Rebecca.**

** "Ark! I'm not trying to tell you what to do-"**

** "Really? Because that's what it sounds like to me, Rebecca. Would you mind clearing up what you're doing, exactly?" He took a step and made her stumble back.**

** "I'm only thinking of the children's best interests! It's not healthy for them to be exposed to all of this so suddenly!"**

** "Stop fighting, you two!" Claire got up and made an effort to get between them, but was stopped in her effort when Rebecca took a step to Ark and got right into his face.**

** "You know, just because you found the children and rescued them, it's not as if you have the rights to watch over them! They're not you're kids, Ark!"**

** "They are my kids!" Ark shouted and pushed past Rebecca to the door. He turned and glared over at her. "No matter what you say, those children are mine now. Their parents are dead, and I'm all they got left. I'll be the judge of what's in their best interests, not you. Are we clear?"**

** Before she could answer, Ark was already out the door and stomping down the stairs to get away from the two girls to cool off. Claire looked over and sighed before sitting down on the bed. Rebecca fell right next to her and laid flat on her back, her knees bent and her feet reaching for the floor.**

** "He just doesn't understand, Claire. The kids can't take the stress like we can. They're not anywhere near mature enough and their minds are still so young." She started to sob a little, looking over to her partner's sister.**

** Claire looked down and rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to soothe Rebecca's nerves. "I know, but it's Ark. He's always been a little stubborn according to Leon, but we can trust his judgement. I'm sure of it." She said the last part aloud to convince herself. She was a bit frusterated herself with all the high tension between everyone.**

** "Lily's so little. She's only nine years old, Claire. She's only nine and all of this has already happened and she's practically homeless without someone to watch over, other than that lunatic in their!" She sat up and pulled from Claire, then got to her feet. "I can't sit idly by while someone so young is being tortured with all the wrong in the world."**

** Claire smiled, seeing herself in Rebecca. She finally started to realize what her brother had meant by 'Rebecca reminds me so much of you Claire.' She got up and smiled to her. "Rebecca, don't worry. Your heart's in the right place, you just need to back down a little."**

** "Thanks, Claire." She smiled over to her, then the two exited the bedroom to go check on the children and see if Ark was up for a round of drinks.**

** The truck finally pulled up and the back door to the seating opened. The groups ran out and got into configuration before turning to look at Barry to see if he had any last minute instructions. He got out last, alongside Leon. Chris ran up to join his partner and the whole group finally gave lent their ears to listen in on Barry.**

** "Alright. You know the mission, and we all know this place is secure. Ms. Vasquez has informed us that nothing is to happen. Leon, Chris. Remember, meet her in the secondary hall in the third floor."**

** "Understood." Leon said as he checked to make sure the saftey to his berretta was on. They were only there to gather information, not commit a mass homocide on Umbrella officials. There was no need for anymore death.**

** "Good. You two, move out and enter through the sewer entrance. Carlos, Jill, and I are going to take the generator doors to sneak through. Now," Barry looked around, seeing everyone's ready face on, "move out!"**

** Leon and Chris looked to Barry and nodded before serperating from the group and heading off on their own objective. Jill and Carlos looked up and awaited Barry's signal to move out, then three disembarked as well. Carlos went on ahead and pulled out his pack, searching for the thick electrical gloves Leon had found for them.**

** The three walked up and Carlos slipped on the gloves, then quickly reached forword and took a firm grip on the handle which sent off some sparks. He wretched his hand back along with the door and groaned, shaking his arm. "This place has too much electricity running to it! No place needs that much."**

** Jill looked over, and then stepped onto the concrete inside the generator, outside the facility. Barry followed after checking on Carlos's hand to make sure he was alright. The three went over and Jill slipped her fingers through the laces of her pack to retrieve her trusty lock pick. The key card reader next to the door was picked and destroyed in a matter of second and Jill casually pushed open the door.**

** "After you, boys."**

** Carlos started to laugh, but quickly made it subside. He rushed in and ducked out underneathe the surveillance camera. He smiled over to Jill and pulled out his lab coat, a disguise for them to throw on over their attire so the camera wouldn't pick up on their activities so easily.**

** Jill and Barry threw on the outfits and stashed their weapons below their coats, so they wouldn't be seen for the time being. The three casually walked in and turned a corner together, talking Scientific nothings. **

** "The, uh, regeneration progress seems to be settling now, and, uh," Barry looked around and noticed not so many scientists wnadering around, just a few int he halls, "why are we talking about this stupid shit?"**

** Carlos smiled and shook his head, "I have no idea." He smiled to Jill who just rolled her eyes a them. "You know, you look cute when you're annoyed."**

** She looked to him and laid her head on his shoulder, "I must be gorgeous right now."**

** He rolled his eyes and pushed her off lightly before looking around and peaking through windows, "Which room are we supposed to go to?"**

** "The main data base, which should be just up the stairs." Barry smiled and started up the long flight of twisting stairs.**

** "Stairs?" Jill playfully started to give Barry trouble, "can't we take the elevator?" When Barry turned to give her a quick glare and put his finger to his lips, she quickly got quiet and the three of them head up the stairs. A large group of scientists went under a sign and through a door which read "Central Research".**

** "That's the place." Barry looked to Jill and Carlos, a cunning smile on his face as he pulled out his magnum and approached the door. Jill pulled her beretta free from her coat and Carlos found his Colt S. A. A. The three stepped up, weapons readied, and stepped right into the door.**

** A scientist looked up a noticed them, then jumped back and started to scream, "Intruders!"**

** Jill turned and secured the door, making sure that no one would get through while they were gathering their data. Carlos walked over and manned the security alarm switch, his gun flying to whoever's forhead it needed to. Anyone who approached was threatened.**

** Barry walked up and took the head researcher by the robe. He threw him back against the side of the wall and rested the buisness end of his magnum directly at the side of the worker's jugular. "Where's your main computer?"**

** The scientist shook, his knees were hobbling into eachother. He reached a throbbing finger up to direct Barry to the main computer. He looked over and nodded to Jill, who reached into her pack and pulled out a large computer disk. She sat down and got to work in downloading anything they researched and all their main branch lines down onto the file.**

** While the three of them took over in their hostile manner, Leon and Chris wandered past. Chris peaked in and pulled out his customized beretta. He smiled and looked over to Leon, "They've got everything under control in there."**

** "Right. Let's get a move on." Leon waved Chris over and the two stepped down the hallway, keeping their guns out of sight for right now. They headed right to the end of the hall and stepped up to get right next to the door.**

** "Okay, on three." Chris put his shoulder right up against the door and Leon made sure his gun was ready. "One," Chris leaned back, "two," Leon got into stance, "three!"**

** The two busted in and Leon shot right into the guard, knocking him flat on his back. They didn't need any interference, and another loss wasn't going to worry Leon right now. He was in a full on rage, thanks to what the Umbrella Corporation had put him through.**

** "Back away from the computer, really slow-like." Chris stood in front of the security switch and aimed down at the camera guard. The man stood and backed himself against the wall while Chris reached up and pulled out the video data card. Once he ripped it from the system, the entire camera array went down. Leon walked up and smiled ot the man.**

** "Do you know what this is about?" The man shook his head, intimidated by Leon. "Do you want to know what it's all about?"**

** "Leon! Not now!" Chris reached up and pulled Leon back. Leon shook off his rage for a moment and looked to him, curiously. "Calm down, man. This is not the time to lose your cool." Chris spoke calmly, trying to get Leon's emotions to become the same.**

** "Right. Sorry about that." Leon sighed and grit his teeth, still angered and tormented by the loss of someone he loved so dear to Umbrella. They'd taken alot from him and when ever he encountered an Umbrella agent, he wanted to make them pay for what had occurred inside the Racoon City Labratory.**

** The two men took a moment to check the outter hall before stepping down and heading to the meet up location. They needed to get their spy and her accomplice. Chris led the way while Leon held back some, just to keep his eyes open for some sort of creature. The lab they were in was fairly similar to the one buried below Raccoon.**

** Chris made a sharp right and stopped, coming face to face with Jill Valentine. She smiled to him and held up the disk they'd needed, "Mission accomplished, sir." She snickered a bit.**

** "Okay, enough chitter chatter, Jill," Barry stepped up, followed by Carlos. He looked to Chris and Leon sternly, "have you made rendezvous with our spy?" He looked around and was already making the assumption.**

** "Not yet, we were just on our way to the meeting point. Care to join us, Burton?" Chris smiled a bit, comfirming Barry's ideas.**

** "Let's get a move on then, we don't have much time to waiste! The scientists aren't going to sit around for long. Once they think it's safe, they'll hit the switch and we'll all be sitting ducks for Umbrella." Barry took the lead and started up the hallway. Jill, Leon, and Carlos quickly followed.**

** "Kill joy." Chris fell in line after making a perimeter check on the surrounding area. He kept up and ran alongside them, trying to make sure no scientists were around, still.**

** "It's a little too quiet in here, Barry." Jill finally pointed out. When they'd first entered the facility, Umbrella workers had been crawling all over the place. Now it seemed the halls were barron.**

** "Just another bad sign." Barry sighed and turned to look around. "Where'd Leon run off to?"**

** "He went up ahead to get our spy," Carlos pointed to Leon, who was still walking up the hall.**

** The door right up ahead would be the one holding Ms. Vasquez and her partner. He came up to the door, hit the switch and stood in shock as it slid up and revealed an all to familiar figure to him. Two, when the woman behind her stepped forword.**

** "It's about time. I was beginning to worry you'd been caught." Ms. Vasquez said, before turning to Barry and smiling. Both her and her accomplice were dressed in the familiar Umbrella uniform, a white lab coat and what ever they so desired to wear beneathe it. **

** "Nice to see you again Ms. Vasquez." Barry walked up with a grin on his old face, but it quickly turned to panic when the sound of an alarm rang through the halls.**

** "Alert. Intruders in labratory's lower levels. Alert. Alert." The message kept repeating itself, and red sensor lights flashed everywhere around them. Ms. Vasquez and her partner took the lead and the squadrant that Barry led soon fell in behind them in a quick hurry and decided trust.**

** "Follow me, I know an escape for us!" Ms. Vasquez ran up ahead, leaving only one member behind for a moment.**

** Leon just stood there, in shock of what he'd just seen. Of who he'd just watched walk out of the doors and not even acknowledge him. Valentine ran back, noticing Kennedy's absence and took him by the arm, leading him after the group. "Come on, Leon! We can't wait any longer!"**

** Ms. Vasquez led them right into a trap, but not entirely on purpose. "Shit! They're blocking our exit!" She frowned and backed behind the approaching S.T.A.R.S. members. They lifted their weapons and so did the men across from them.**

** "Stand down!" One shouted across Barry and his team, but none of the special forces team would lower their weapons. "I said, stand down!"**

** Barry took the first shot, and didn't even faulter when the opposing side began to blast their way against the S.T.A.R.S. In matter of seconds, the entire team had been dismantled and only Carlos had suffered a shot, which was only centered against his body armor.**

** "Everyone, all right?" Barry looked around, just to confirm this. Jill nodded and so the burly man turned and ran down the hall, letting Ms. Vasquez take the lead of him. She led them right to a shoot in the wall, which she hopped into first and slid through.**

** "Carlos, you go next! You're shot." Jill said, worriedly over her boyfriend. He smiled and winked to her.**

** "It's nothing, chica." Carlos smiled and listened anyway, going through the shoot and landing on the outside. He stood and looked around for anyone else they'd need to worry about, then waited for his team to come down. **

** Leon took the front this time and turned around, "Where's Jill?"**

** "What?" Carlos shot up, quickly searching through their small group to find Jill was now missing.**

** Barry ran up to the shoot and started to yell up it, "Jill! Hurry up!" Everyone stood in silence as the only response that came down was a load of gun fire. Carlos shook a bit, his knees buckling slightly as he thought of what could've happened to Jill.**

** Chris bit his lip and looked to everyone, "We can't wait around. We need to make our exit, now!" Not wanting to leave Jill behind, he made a tough decision and ran up to their vehicle which was parked only a couple meters away. The team followed and Carlos slumped into the back against the bench-like seats.**

** Leon got in back and stared right at Ms. Vasquez with an angered look. She looked back, somewhat startled, "Is something wrong, Leon?"**

** "Yeah, there's something wro-"**

** "How does she know your name, Leon?" Chris pointed out, noting that they'd never mentioned anything about Kennedy to the woman. He turned to Ms. Vasquez with a questioning look, "do you and him know each other?"**

** She looked down and she sighed, "I did. Once, in a past life."**

** Leon rolled his eyes and slammed his foot against the base of the truck. "Past life, nothing!"**

** Everyone, but Carlos, turned to him startled. Barry stared for a moment, wondering why his team mate was acting so irrationally. **

** Chris looked at Ms. Vasquez, then her partner for a moment. "Your name isn't Ms. Vasquez, is it?"**

** She sat there, staring blankly. An indifferent glare just fell upon everyone, until finally her partner spoke up, "Is Sherry all right, Leon?"**

** He looked over to her and glared for a moment, "Yes, Sherry's fine now. She's got a great mother to look after her." His words seemed to sting her in a way.**

** "Leon, calm down." Ms. Vasquez started in a calming voice.**

** Leon just shot his glare right over to her, "I thought you were dead. How did you survive the fall?"**

** "I don't know. I only remember waking up with a man helping me to my feet and taking me out on the train, opposite the one you and that woman were on, Leon. If I could've gotten to you, you know I would've." She pleaded her case.**

** "Yeah, save it." He sighed and looked over to her, "I thought I'd gotten rid of your lies back in the lab, Ada."**


End file.
